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by John Edward Albert
The foundational message in the beginning of John's chapter 2, "the Wedding Feast of Cana" marks the end of the Old Covenant and the announcement of the New Covenant "the Good News". It is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, inclusive of His oral teaching and visual compassion as He unfolds this new message. Jesus had just picked his disciples and they were all invited with Mary to the wedding feast at Cana. There is reference to the wedding commencing on the third day; Jesus would inadvertently make use of this miracle to point to his divinity and power. Remember in chapter one John starts with "In the beginning" and in Genesis chapter one, it is on the third day that the light was shed on earth. There is no coincidence here, John is clearly pointing to the beginning of a new creation in the Old Testament then, and now a new creation in the New Covenant. This will again, be repeated on the third day at the Passion, when Jesus resurrects from mortal death. "The miracle exhibited the fact that the exercise of creative power essentially belonged to the deity...and to the work of Christ as a transforming, enriching, and glorifying of the natural, through divine grace and power...His disciples believed on Him...The demonstration of the Lord's power established faith in his deity" [3] It also becomes evident that the waters of purification were limited to the Israelites in the Old Covenant. The old wineskin and old wine will be replaced with new wine, that of the Gospel; and a new wineskin, that of the Church. These waters of purification would only become suitable when changed into wine. The overflowing grace of the new festive wine abounds unable to be contained in the old skins, unable to fit within the old Jewish laws. Now everyone will have the free will to choose to participate in the eternal wedding banquet. Also in John, he implies a parallel to Jesus being the new Moses and the changing of water into blood in the first plague of Egypt. [John 2:6] [Ex 7:19] ... Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, ... that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone. [5] This wine will soon become the precious blood of our dying Savior, flowing from His side at the cross with the purifying water, amplifying His divine mercy to all of humankind. It is quite clever that God would start His Sons ministry adorning it at a wedding, using such an effective sign to introduce publicly His presence. This would continue to be the unifying theme of love from Jesus as the groom, head of His church to His bride the body of His church, the faithful. The foundational purpose of our unity and commitment in marriage on earth as husband and wife is actually a preparatory union, foreshadowing our union with Christ. [CCC: 796, 1603, 1613] [John 2: 3-4] "And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine." And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. [5] In John's Gospel in the preceding passage, it seems evident that Jesus when speaking of " the hour is not yet come" is referring to the long period of His ministry that is about to begin, but at the same time metaphorically pointing to a more precise hour further into His ministry. Jesus withdraws His attention from his mothers request for a moment, so that He can in effect choose the time to begin His miracles, albeit only a moment later. In addition, what seems to have been a curt response has lost its ambiance in translation. The term "Woman" is highly respected. Mary would make the request then humbly leave it to Jesus to choose the timing of the miracle. In full faith, she knew He would correct the shortage of wine. "...According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus wished to show that he was master of his time and yet avoid making his mother blush publicly. Better still, we will say with St. Cyril of Alexandria , 'Christ teaches us here what honor is due to one's parents, since for his mother's sake he did what he would not otherwise have done'." [2] Jesus actually did not waste any time in asking the waiters to fill up the six stone water pots to the brim. The waiters knew that the will of God in even the smallest details must be fulfilled. Once they had done this, they carried a sample to the headwaiter to test. It became evident that this was the best wine ironically saved for last. At this time, a new spiritual dimension of motherhood is unveiled. It is one that through her intercession, a humble plea would arouse in Jesus the actions of His first sign, a spark igniting the faith of the apostles. This intercession at Cana by Mary, as the new Eve, is a sign pointing to the precise glorious hour, the wedding feast of the lamb, the New Covenant. [CCC2618] You could say that Mary had just flipped the switch turning on his ministry. She is always present at the most pivotal points in Christianity. When Mary said," yes" to God the Father at the Annunciation she became the very first Christian. To amplify and continue her theological importance, our "Blessed Mother" would also be present at the end of her Sons mortal life, Jesus' passion; where once again He would refer to her as," Woman". Clearly closer to his death and resurrection it is evident that Jesus is pinpointing that his "hour has come". As the groom, he dies to his earthly flesh only to emerge into eternal life providing to the submissive body of the Church their free choice of eternal life. [John 12:23-24] "Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." [5] In the resurrection miracle, raising Lazarus by extreme healing was for the Sanhedrin the straw that broke the camel's back. This miracle would foreshadow Jesus' own resurrection, and because of His claim to deity, the Sanhedrin would now seek His death. Just before His Passion on the cross, it would be the last of seven signs representing completeness, perfection and the culmination of the miracles in His public ministry. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus telling Him of Lazarus' illness. Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus' illness was not until death, but that it was to show the glory of the Son of God. Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters but chose without denial to delay His return to their village. Jesus had to be assertive in explaining to the disciples that Lazarus was truly dead; they had thought he was only asleep. For Jesus, death was a kind of sleep, a separation of the spirit from the body. This resurrection miracle became an opportunity that further aided in reinforcing the apostle's faith in Him. When Jesus came to comfort the family, Martha greeted Him, but Mary stayed home. Martha through faith knew that Lazarus would rise again at the resurrection on judgment day. [John 11:25] "Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: " [5] To Mary and Martha Lazarus was dead, to Jesus he was only asleep, truly a modest reference to his divine power. Life is Jesus' gift, a gift to men of Himself. Jesus becomes the life that men live now and always, and the resurrection that is the final triumph over death. He who lives and has faith in Jesus will never die. Mary went to meet Jesus, to weep by the grave of Lazarus. When seeing Jesus she fell at His feet imploring that if He had been there Lazarus would not be dead and now after four days, corrupt. Seeing Martha and Mary weeping amongst the presence of the evil of death, Jesus was troubled and wept with them. It was evident that Jesus loved Lazarus, although some wondered why this healer of the blind could not have prevented His friend's death. [John 11:37] "But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?" [5] Clearly, Jesus felt human emotions, He wept in remorse for Mary, and Martha, and He became angry repeatedly at the presence of this evil, of a death so final. To this day man imitates this in reacting to the culture of death, showing remorse for the victims and anger for the evil culture of abortion and euthanasia. Now, as Jesus prayed to his Father they took the stone away. The sphere of human instrumentality is also present in the miracle, for Jesus said to His disciples, "Take ye away the stone" and "Loose him and let him go." These actions required no miracle. [3] So that they may now believe, Jesus shouted for Lazarus. Lazarus, who had presently been dead, suddenly came out looking as he was when prepared for burial. Jesus had them set Lazarus free from his bandages and many who saw this believed in Jesus. [John 11:40] Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God? [5] We can summarize these miraculous signs with several conclusions. To experience the healing of Jesus' ministry was as natural as he was; it was prophesized in the Old Testament. Jesus was able to overcome, reversing the evil that had passed down from the original fall of humankind. "He is the 'first fruits', the 'pioneer of life'. He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man." [4] Jesus although containing a divine nature broke into the human situation, developing His human nature from conception. Because of this combination of natures, Jesus is compassionately compelled to heal. Jesus' "Blessed Mother" Mary would be present at Cana, the beginning of His ministry, the march to His glorious hour. She would be there until the bittersweet end, exemplifying the perfect Christian and participating in the suffering of her Son. Through faith and hope, Mary understood the divine certainty of her Son's death and resurrection, amplifying the salvific hope it cemented for all of sinful humankind. Certainly, Lazarus' resurrection is a prefiguring of Christ's resurrection. It transmits the hope and faith that we can embrace knowing that God's power and glory can certainly empower us to eternal life with [Rev 22:13] Jesus. Bibliography 1."The Catholic Catechism"; John A. Hardon, S.J., Doubleday 1981 pg. 144 2."St. John's Gospel" a Bible study guide and commentary, Stephen K. Ray, Ignatius 2002 pg. 79 3."All the Miracles of the Bible", Herbert Lockyer, Zondervan 1961 pg. 161, 229 4."Miracles" , C.S. Lewis, 1947" pg. 237 5."Douay-Rheims Bible " ; www.Biblios.com 6."Christ the Lord: The road to Cana", Anne Rice, 2008 pg.101, 167 7. Catechism of the Catholic Church, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM |
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